CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Jan. 04, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Spero Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq:SPRO), a multi-asset clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on identifying, developing and commercializing novel treatments for multidrug-resistant bacterial infections, today announced the appointment of David Melnick, M.D., as Chief Medical Officer to oversee Spero’s clinical development and regulatory strategy. Dr. Melnick brings significant clinical experience to Spero with 18 years in anti-infective drug development including seven successful anti-infective drug approvals.
“I am excited to welcome David to Spero, and look forward to leveraging his clinical expertise and leadership to successfully expand and advance our diverse pipeline of anti-infectives through clinical development,” said Ankit Mahadevia, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Spero Therapeutics. “David’s experience advancing multiple therapies to approval is a tremendous addition to our highly experienced team and will be instrumental in our mission to combat the growing threat of multidrug-resistant bacteria.”
Prior to joining Spero Therapeutics, Dr. Melnick served as Vice President of Clinical Development for Anti-Infectives at Allergan since 2015. In that capacity, he oversaw the development and regulatory approval of Teflaro®, Avycaz®, and Dalvance® in the United States. Prior to Allergan, Dr. Melnick served fifteen years at AstraZeneca in various levels of increasing responsibility, most recently as Vice President of Clinical Development for Anti-Infectives. In that capacity, he oversaw the late stage clinical development of Merrem®, Teflaro®, and Avycaz®. In addition, he served as the acting Vice President for early development at AstraZeneca. He received his medical training at Columbia University, followed by a Residency in Internal Medicine at The New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center. Following a Fellowship in Infectious Disease at Yale University, he held faculty positions at the Boston University School of Medicine and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. He subsequently joined Kaiser-Permanente as a practicing Infectious Diseases specialist and as the Director of HIV Clinical Research at Kaiser Permanente Mid-Atlantic, with a faculty appointment at Georgetown University.
About Spero
Spero Therapeutics is a multi-asset, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on identifying, developing and commercializing novel treatments for multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial infections.
Spero is advancing SPR994, which is designed to be the first broad-spectrum oral antibiotic for use in adults to treat MDR Gram-negative infections.
Spero is also advancing its Potentiator Platform, which it believes will enable it to develop drugs that will expand the spectrum and potency of existing antibiotics, including formerly inactive antibiotics, against Gram-negative bacteria. The product candidates are two IV-administered agents, SPR741 and SPR206, designed to treat MDR Gram-negative infections in the hospital setting.
Spero is also developing SPR720, its novel oral therapy product candidate designed for the treatment of pulmonary non-tuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) infections.
For more information, visit https://sperotherapeutics.com.
